Officials revealed that some of the private engineering colleges want to legalise their unaccounted cash and therefore they are collecting demonetized Rs. 500 & 1,000 notes as an advance fee.

It has come to the notice of Ministry of Human Resource and Development that some of the private engineering colleges across the country are collecting an advance fee in demonetized Rs. 500 & 1,000 notes. These colleges might face a tax investigation and will be derecognized if found guilty. The government has received the information regarding the same from the intelligence department.

One of the officials revealed that some of the private engineering colleges want to legalise their unaccounted cash and therefore they are collecting demonetized Rs. 500 & 1,000 notes as an advance fee.

As soon as the issue came to the notice of HRD Ministry, Prakash Javadekar issued directions to All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to check the grants approvals to these engineering colleges must be investigated. The government may alert Income Tax Department too. As per the rules of AICTE, none of the institutes is allowed to collect an advance fee, and there is no such provision.

After a thorough investigation, serious action will be taken against those colleges which accepted advance payments from the students and these colleges may face penal action.

According to sources, Income Tax Department is all set to take action against the violators. The accounts of these institutes will be checked. The department is also planning to launch a complaint cell page on the official site so that anyone can report such cases.